Author:AMICO’s Founder – Ami Bauer

Learn About the Best 10 Plants To Grow for Privacy in Australia

Why plant for privacy? Australia has a range of hedge and tree options that not only look beautiful but create a visual barrier to lower the ease of strangers looking into your home.

Privacy from plants in your garden, be it from the street or fence line, can also lower noise barista168
pg slot while blocking the sun and wind. We’ve pulled together the top ten tall-growing screening plants which you can use to create natural privacy screens while improving the look of your home’s façade.

The Best 10 Plants for Good Privacy Australia-Wide

The following are our top picks for screening plants in Australia. From glossy green leaves to colourful flowers, there will be an option for everyone below:

Lilly Pilly

The Lilly Pilly is one of the most popular screening plants in Australia and can grow from three to five metres tall. They have green leaves, small edible berries, and stunning colourful flowers. Be sure to trim when in full bloom or just after flowering, and ensure they have full sun and fertile, well-drained soils.

Sweet Viburnum

Sweet Viburnum offers extremely fragrant flowers that will help your garden smell lovely despite their small size. This is another great option in the category of screening plants, as the shrub can grow up to six meters tall, essentially qualifying it as a small tree.

Coastal Rosemary

Coastal Rosemary is a low-growing compact plant perfect for hedges up to half a metre. It has grey foliage and small white flowers with orange/purple spots on the bottom. Place in front of taller screening plants for a very resilient contrast that is very drought-tolerant and perfect for a variety of soils.

Kohuhu

Kohuhu are popular small evergreen screening trees, native to Australia and available in several varieties. They can grow up to five metres with a columnar shape that grows into an oval. These dense trees make for the perfect hedge with small glossy green leaves that produce small brown flowers that smell like honey! If possible, aim for full sun and well-drained soil; do that, and these plants will need very little maintenance.

Ornamental Gold Bamboo

Bamboo is a super plant! Strong, tall and quick-growing, these low-maintenance trees create plenty of privacy. Opt for a clumping bamboo variety for ease of control, like the Alphonse Karr, which will be fully grown in 18 to 24 months at around four metres. It grows as a reddish-pink colour which fades to gold and green-striped culms for a stunning look.

Hardenbergia

Hardenbergia prefers well-drained soil in a frost-free environment. This evergreen climber will grow perfectly up a fence or wall and can be trained if pruned after flowering. The Hardenbergia is a hardy, woody-stemmed climber with dark green leaves and purple pea flowers that arrive in spring.

Laurustinus

Laurustinus (also known as Viburnum Tinus) creates a four-metre high screen with its durable, small-leafed evergreen that produces small red berries and tiny pink buds that turn into fragrant white flowers. All soil types are welcome if watered regularly with a spring prune to encourage new shoots.

Mock Orange

The Mock Orange can grow up to four metres with dense, dark green foliage that produces orange-blossom-scented white flowers. Expect it to hits its flowery peak in summer and spring, as this plant loves sunny positions and moist, rich, well-drained soil. Beware; however, these are not frost-tolerant plants!

Photinia

Photinias is a range of small evergreen trees and shrubs with dense and rapid growth, perfect for a variety of garden settings. Technically part of the rose family, you’ll see small white flowers in spring with apple-shaped red fruits. Photinia tolerates different growing conditions but prefers full sun and good air movement. Once established, they only require minimal watering and are very drought-resistant, growing up to six metres.

Leighton Green

Leighton Green is a fast-growing conifer that can be trimmed into a hedge and used as a windbreak. This very dense-forming habit can grow to 15 metres high in well-drained soil, full sun or partly shaded areas. This frost-hardy and drought-tolerant plant prefers cold climates and exposed positions.

How can AMICO Help with Your Privacy Plants?

The expert garden design team at Amico will find the best screening plants for your area, and ensure you have fertile soils for the best possible growing conditions. Call 1300 – GARDEN (1300 427 336) to speak with our expert team about the best screening plants for your garden today.

FAQ

Have some more questions about the fastest growing screening plants in Australia? Our FAQ may help:

What Is the difference between hedging and screening plants and how can that can affect privacy?

The difference between hedging and screening is mainly the fact that hedging requires regular maintenance to keep it in shape and avoid an overgrown situation, whereas screening is not kept to a shape, instead growing to its natural shape and size. Screening is, therefore, a bit better for privacy; however, a dense hedge will also ensure a good level of privacy as well.

How do you choose the proper screening plant for your garden?

From the best potted plants to a climbing plant that will look amazing in your garden, expert gardeners like the team Amico will help you find the right solutions. We’ll help you pick a screening plant that will grow in your area while also making sure it fits the aesthetic of your garden.

What is the fastest-growing hedge plant in Australia?

The larger leaf Sweet Viburnum is a very fast growing hedge with large shiny emerald leaves which makes for a perfect privacy barrier in your garden.

The 10 Best Shade Loving Plants in Australia

Best Shade Loving Plants in Australia 

From deep green foliage to something with a touch of colour and white flowers, there are plenty of wonderful shade-loving plants Australia can offer.

Improve your garden by filling the spots that get limited sunshine or none at all. The team at Amico know that a gardener is never without options, so read on for our list of the best plants that grow in shade Australia-wide.

How To Help Plants Grow in Shade

Shade-tolerant plants will often benefit from good light levels to get them off to a strong start. If you have shaded areas for much of the growing season, they may also be sunny and open at different times in the year, making them a great place to grow cool-season crops. 

Alternatively, you can start seedlings somewhere you can guarantee warmth and light. Then, you can plant them out after they form when they’re bigger, stronger, and better positioned to cope with shadier conditions. 

Things To Consider When Planting in the Shade

Planting in shade can actually be a blessing as you can choose from the many beautiful and varied plants we will list below. However, there are several essential tips to keep in mind, such as:

• Add water-retaining gel to the compost to help retain moisture
• Improve the soil with organic matter for better water retention 
• Improve aeration for root growth with leaf mould or compost
• Remove impoverished soil between any large roots and replace it with better soil regularly
• Weathered wood ash from a bonfire can increase the potash in the soil (Sulphate of potash works for those without fires) to promote shade-tolerant plant growth
• Always avoid high nitrogen fertilisers
• Fork the base of each planting hole so roots can find the cool, moist soil
• Mulch the area after planting with leaf mould or composted bark chippings

The 10 Best Australian Shade Plants

If you want to avoid the full sun, here are the best Australian plants for a shaded garden according to our experts:

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are beautiful garden options that produce coloured flowers in spires in summer, giving you a very bright autumn foliage collection. 

• Soil: Well-draining and slightly acidic
• Water:  Moderate as these are drought tolerant
• Feed: Balanced fertiliser at the beginning of spring and summer

Looking for plants that love full shade? Hydrangeas are a perfect choice!

Mona Lavender

The Mona Lavender blooms purple or blue-grey flowers while also adding a fragrance to the garden. The leaves complement the colours of the flowers with a shiny dark green to create a stunning look overall.

• Soil: Moist but well-drained
• Water: Enough to keep moist
• Feed: Slow-release fertiliser at the beginning of Spring

The purple flowers of the Mona Lavender will be a beautiful addition to any garden.

Winter Daphne

One of Australia’s most popular shade-loving plants is the Winter Daphne, thanks to its fragrant flowers that will appear in mid-winter. The pink or white flowers are worth the extra effort required to keep these plants healthy.

• Soil: Mostly dry with good drainage
• Water: Infrequently
• Feed: Balanced fertiliser post-bloom

Your garden will look amazing in late winter thanks to the Winter Daphne.

Foamflower

Also known as the Tiarella Corifolia, this perennial blooms its white flowers in early spring and enjoys both part and full shade. The small flowers come via several individual blooms in one stem and look amazing in the garden.

• Soil: Moist, cool, well-draining
• Water: Minimal, especially in winter
• Feed: Also minimal

The Foamflower is a great option for garden areas that experience full shade.

Fire Lily

The drought-tolerant fire lily is a bright-coloured plant that comes in many different varieties with flowers that range from orange to red and yellow. You can even find rarer types in cream or pink, all of which look great.

• Soil: Well-drained
• Water: Regular when the surface becomes dry
• Feed: Slow-release fertiliser from January to August only

The variegated foliage of the Fire Lily means something special for your garden.

Dead Nettle

The dead nettle likes to avoid full sun and blooms in early summer. Much like its cousin lavender, it produces purple and pink flowers with red or white as well. This is a great ground-covering option as well.

• Soil: Well-drained medium moisture 
• Water: Low maintenance, should be fully dry between watering
• Feed: Fertilise monthly while growing

Add some Dead Nettle to your sweet box or shaded areas for a stunning effect.

Coral Bells

These perennial shrubs can avoid full sun and come in several breeds with different leaf colours. You’ll find silver, purple-black, orange, salmon, and more making them the perfect match for every garden.

• Soil: Moist and well-draining
• Water: Minimal but more if in a container
• Feed: Compost twice a year

Coral Bells only need light pruning to look their absolute best in your garden.

Winter Roses

Winter roses are a great way to add a variety of colours to your garden. You’ll find whites, yellows, dark plum, pink, peach, and lilac. Use them as a beautiful ground cover in the shadier areas of your garden.

• Soil: Moderately fertile and non-sandy
• Water: Keep moist while growing, then lessen
• Feed: Annual composting

Avoid regular watering with the drought-safe option of Winter Roses.

Foxglove

The Foxglove is one of the best shade-tolerant plants. Its flowers bring red, purple, white, lavender, yellow, and pink to your garden in tubular blooms that reseed themselves and grow back as a different variety – it’s a lot of fun! However, please be aware that Foxgloves are toxic if ingested, so keep them away from children and pets.

• Soil: Well-draining and moist
• Water: Avoid dry or soggy soil 
• Feed: One inch of compost to encourage growth

The Foxglove varieties are considered some of the most beautiful plants you can add to your garden.

New Zealand Rock Lily

The New Zealand rock lily offers some very unique foliage that forms a bluish hue in late spring through midsummer. The cream/white star-shaped flowers are a truly lovely addition to any shaded area of your garden.

• Soil: Well-drained and moist
• Water: Water heavily in the growth period then lessen
• Feed: Fertilise during spring

While they may be from New Zealand, Australian gardens can happily accommodate the rock lily.

Let Amico Help You Grow the Perfect Shade Loving Plants

Found some options in the list above that you love? Amico has a team of gardening experts who can help you form a beautiful garden, even if you are dealing with areas in full shade. We’re passionate about plants and have years of experience. Call 1300 – GARDEN (1300 427 336) and let us add some colourful flowers to the shaded spots of your garden today.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Have some more questions about the many plants that are available for the shaded areas of your garden? Our FAQ may help:

What can be the alternative of sunlight to plants?

Artificial lighting such as fluorescent lights can be an economical and easy sunlight replacement for indoor plants. Choose tubes or compact bulbs (CFL) which will work in your regular sockets.

Can plants survive indoors without sunlight?

All houseplants will require some light to survive as they harvest solar energy to grow and flower. Without a little sunlight, your indoor plants will wither and die, so move them into sunny spots from time to time to charge up.

What is the most low-maintenance outdoor plant?

Low-maintenance plants are perfect for those who don’t want to spend too much time in their garden. The lowest of low-maintenance plants are succulents and cacti such as Aeonium arboretum (‘Zwartkop’), Portulaca grandiflora and the Echeveria species.

Sloping Backyard Designs for Australian Gardens

Are you struggling to come up with sloping garden ideas? Fear not as our expert sloping garden top tips and ideas will give you the inspiration to use an incline to your advantage. Make the most of a sloping garden by creating a number of differently designed levels. 

It may seem like a challenge at first but don’t let a sloping garden limit your design ideas and expectations. Sloping gardens can actually offer a whole number of different opportunities than flat gardens cannot.  

With thoughtful landscaping, even steep slopes and the most fractured of gardens can be both visually attractive and practical. With a clever landscape design and careful planning, a sloping garden can be transformed into an amazing space that feels much larger than a flat, open garden. You can contact us here for a competitive quote or some helpful advice.

25 sloping garden ideas and tips

Struggling with sloping garden ideas? Need some inspiration? Here are our 25 top tips and ideas to help you:

Garden steps

Building steps is a great way to create a transition between spaces in a sloping garden. Stone and wooden steps can be both aesthetically pleasing and practical.

Create several tiers

Creating a tiered garden on a sloping landscape can help manage erosion and give you the opportunity to layer different plants and landscaping elements. Use concrete, stone or railroad ties to form the tiers, to make a big impact on the look of your property.

Build a waterfall

For the more ambitious, you can use the height of your sloping garden to your advantage and incorporate an amazing water feature. Turn your outside space into your own private oasis with a beautifully constructed waterfall.

Lay a winding path

Laying a winding path through your sloping garden draws the eye through the landscape and provides an attractive focal point. It’s also very practical as it makes it much easier and safer to move around the garden.

Ideas for retaining walls

Cutting into the slope of your garden and building retaining walls to hold back the soil can make your property much more practical. It also gives you the opportunity to create a dedicated planting area.

Incorporate a rock garden

Rock gardens are not only very satisfying to the eye but also extremely practical. They reduce your maintenance load in the garden and also give a stable base for rock-loving plants.

Build a fire pit

Transform your neglected sloping garden into an alluring destination with a fire pit. Cosy winter nights spent around the fire with family and friends is always a good idea.

Install vegetable beds

Make the most of your outdoor space by planting vegetables in raised beds. The shallower sections of the bed will be ideal for herbs and the deeper sections for root vegetables that require more soil.

Add more native plants

Native plants help reduce erosion by providing a network of roots to hold soil in place. They will also require very little maintenance as they will naturally thrive in their native environment.

Create different zones

A gives you the opportunity to create different zones. Why not incorporate a patio, comfortable seating area and dining space.

Add plants with different heights

A sloping garden gives you the opportunity to play around with the height of planting. Use climbing plants and structures to create a more dynamic and design-led look that can’t be achieved in a garden sitting on just one level.

Create a more private area

Utilize your upward sloping garden to create a much more private space. Use taller trees and shrubs to create a screen across the back of your garden to give you greater privacy.

Planting tips for sloping gardens

Sloping gardens (especially those on a steep gradient) often have issues when it comes to planting selection as the soil can often be sandy and prone to drying out quickly. To counteract this you should; choose plants that thrive in quick-draining soil, plant through coconut matting and mulch the area to keep the soil wetter and prevent weeds from growing.

Add lighting

Add lighting to any steps in your sloping garden to ensure maximum safety. While accent lighting for certain trees and shrubs will also help you be more aware of the sloping plot.

Do not plant grass

Planting grass on sloping gardens doesn’t stop erosion and between 30-75% of all rainfall on grass-covered slopes runs off. As well as this, seeding a slope with grass encourages weeds to grow and makes re-establishing plants much more difficult.

Raise a seating area

Create an elevated view over the rest of the garden with a raised staged seating area. Turn the sloping site into a design feature as opposed to a design feat.

Build a slide between levels

Turn your sloping back garden into a children’s dream play area by building a slide between levels. The slide works as both entertainment for the children and also gives them a safe way to travel between the different levels.

Create a multi-level garden

It’s hard to imagine what to do if your garden has a very steep slope. By using retaining walls, you can turn that steep slope into a multi-level garden. Natural stone is often used to create this effect.

Use railway sleepers to add structure

Make a feature of the different height levels, enhancing them rather than trying to soften the look with railway sleepers. They’re most often used to contain flowerbeds between the levels.

Add character with gabion walls

Gabion walls not only add character to the steps in your sloping garden. The retaining walls also play an important role by stabilizing the steep slopes while also preventing erosion.

Install a garden pond

Use a hardscape stone wall on the side of a pond to disguise a slope across a garden. The stone walls allow you to split the different levels of the garden in a very natural-looking way.

Incorporate some sunken seating

When you have limited space as a result of a sloping garden, it’s important to come up with clever ideas to make the most of it. Retaining walls can also be used to create built-in lounge seating.

Brighten spaces with pale walls

Choose pale materials and colours to help open up the space of your seating area. The space will feel much more airy and relaxed as a result.

Divide your garden with sloping curves

A great way to disguise a steep sloping plot is by inserting sweeping garden paths. It subtly divides up the sloping site and creates a beautiful look. A curvy retaining wall can also have the same effect.

Add some stylish railings

Gardens with a significant slope must comply with building and safety regulations to ensure everyone’s safety. However, you can use this as an opportunity to incorporate some stylish railings. 

Draining a sloping backyard

Sloping gardens can be some of the most aesthetically pleasing but they do offer additional challenges when it comes to issues such as drainage. Below are some actions you undertake to ensure your outdoor space drains as well as possible:

• Build a pond at the bottom of the slope for water to naturally drain into
• Create a bog garden in which water-loving plants grow
• Add in some drainage channels to take the water away from the base of the slope
• Install French drains or dry wells below the topsoil to disperse and redirect excess water
• Add in plenty of manure and mulch to keep the soil at the top of the slope moist all year round
• Regularly check your yard to prevent future drainage issues

How to flatten a sloping backyard

Follow the steps below if you decide to flatten your sloping backyard:

• Remove all vegetation and clear any debris
• Grade any areas around your garden to ensure that water flows away from your building after levelling
• Use stakes and string to measure the rise and run of the slope
• Calculate the number of terrace levels you will need (a rise of 2 feet and a run of 5 feet per terrace is usually recommended)
• Water the ground to avoid having to dig into hard ground
• Build retaining walls
• Fill the majority of the hole formed with sand and fill the topmost part with compost and topsoil ready for planting
• Plant new grass seed or sod

What permissions do I need to level my garden?

You don’t need any specific permissions to start your sloping garden project. However, there are a couple of factors that you must take into consideration before starting the work. 

Firstly if you plan to move any trees that are located in the garden, you’ll need to check if there are any tree protection orders on any of them. If so then you could be breaking the law so it’s best to seek professional advice before you begin. 

You’ll also want to consider all boundary walls and fences. Will any changes within the garden affect your neighbour’s wall or fence? boundary walls may need underpinning if you’re dropping the level of the ground a significant amount (which can prove rather costly).

Make that sloping backyard of yours a beautiful space that will give your garden a significant build of character.

Hire the experts that can help you design your sloping backyard

With many years of experience as a garden management specialist, the Amico team can help transform your sloped backyard into your dream area. Our aim is to create a garden that you’ll love for many years to come, by solving all of your garden needs while working to your budget. 

Contact us today for a competitive quote, or even just to ask some questions and run some ideas past us. We’ll be happy to hear your vision, ensure it’s possible and even make some helpful suggestions to enable you to get the best garden possible into your home as quickly as possible.

FAQs

We hope this article has given you all the inspiration you need for your sloping garden. However, if you do have any other questions you can contact us or alternatively you can check out our most Frequently Asked Questions below which may help you solve your query. 

What can I do with a sloping lawn?

There are a huge number of sloping garden ideas available to you but you can contact us today for some bespoke ideas for your particular property.

How do you landscape a sloped yard on a budget?

We strive to ensure that we at Amico can solve all of your garden needs while working to your specific budget.

How do you create a landscape on a slope?

There are a number of ways to create a landscape on a slope by incorporating paths or utilising a retaining wall. 

What can I do with a sloping back garden?

Whether you have a steep or gentle slope we’ll be able to provide you with a number of options for your backyard.

How do you drain a sloping garden?

An improved drainage system can help drain a sloping garden. Check out the other alternatives in the article above or contact us for any more information

Can you flatten a sloped garden? 

Follow our guide for flattening a sloped garden or contact us for any more information you might need. 

What can you plant on a steep slope?

Deep-rooted and any native plants are the best to plant on a steep-sloped garden. 

Should a garden slope be terraced?

A garden slope doesn’t have to be terraced but one of the main advantages is that terraces control soil erosion as water doesn’t run down the previously sloped garden.